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The New Zealand performance-based research fund and its impact on publication activity in economics

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  • David L. Anderson
  • John Tressler
Abstract
New Zealand's academic research assessment scheme, the Performance-Based Research Fund (PBRF), was launched in 2002 with the stated objective of increasing average research quality in the nation's universities. Evaluation rounds were conducted in 2003, 2006 and 2012. In this article, we use 22 different journal weighting schemes to generate output estimates of refereed journal article and page production for three 6-year periods (1994--9; 2000--5 and 2006--11). These periods reflect a pre-PBRF environment, a mixed assessment period, and a pure PBRF research environment, respectively. Our findings indicate that, on average, research productivity, defined in either article or page terms, has increased since the introduction of the PBRF. However, this outcome is due to a major increase in the quantity of articles and pages produced per capita that has more than off-set a decline in the quality of published outputs since the introduction of the PBRF. In other words, our findings suggest that the PBRF has failed to achieve its stated goal of increasing average research quality, but it has resulted in substantial gains in productivity achieved via large increases in the quantity of refereed journal articles. Copyright The Author 2013. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com, Oxford University Press.

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  • David L. Anderson & John Tressler, 2013. "The New Zealand performance-based research fund and its impact on publication activity in economics," Research Evaluation, Oxford University Press, vol. 23(1), pages 1-11, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:oup:rseval:v:23:y:2013:i:1:p:1-11
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10.1093/reseval/rvt017
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    Cited by:

    1. Robert A. Buckle and John Creedy, 2018. "The Impact on Research Quality of Performance-Based Funding: The Case of New Zealand’s PBRF Scheme," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 24(1), pages 25-48.
    2. David I Stern, 2014. "High-Ranked Social Science Journal Articles Can Be Identified from Early Citation Information," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(11), pages 1-11, November.
    3. Robert A. Buckle & John Creedy & Norman Gemmell, 2020. "Is external research assessment associated with convergence or divergence of research quality across universities and disciplines? Evidence from the PBRF process in New Zealand," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(36), pages 3919-3932, July.
    4. Buckle, Robert A. & Creedy, John & Ball, Ashley, 2020. "A Schumpeterian Gale: Using Longitudinal Data to Evaluate Responses to Performance-Based Research Funding Systems," Working Paper Series 9447, Victoria University of Wellington, Chair in Public Finance.
    5. Stephan B. Bruns & David I. Stern, 2016. "Research assessment using early citation information," Scientometrics, Springer;Akadémiai Kiadó, vol. 108(2), pages 917-935, August.
    6. Robert A. Buckle and John Creedy, 2018. "The Impact on Research Quality of Performance-Based Funding: The Case of New Zealand’s PBRF Scheme," Agenda - A Journal of Policy Analysis and Reform, Australian National University, College of Business and Economics, School of Economics, vol. 24(1), pages 25-48.
    7. Fokina, Tatiana (Фокина, Татьяна), 2016. "Evaluation of the results of scientific workers: the experience of New Zealand [Оценка Результатов Деятельности Научных Работников: Опыт Новой Зеландии]," Ekonomicheskaya Politika / Economic Policy, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, vol. 1, pages 143-156, February.
    8. Robert A. Buckle & John Creedy, 2019. "The evolution of research quality in New Zealand universities as measured by the performance-based research fund process," New Zealand Economic Papers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 53(2), pages 144-165, May.

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    JEL classification:

    • A11 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Role of Economics; Role of Economists
    • A14 - General Economics and Teaching - - General Economics - - - Sociology of Economics
    • C81 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Data Collection and Data Estimation Methodology; Computer Programs - - - Methodology for Collecting, Estimating, and Organizing Microeconomic Data; Data Access
    • J24 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Human Capital; Skills; Occupational Choice; Labor Productivity

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